Our Coats

All of our coats are proudly handcrafted at our workshop in Old Montreal. The average full-length mink coat takes about four full days of work to complete. There are many steps involved in making a fur coat and they require a great deal of skill and specialization.

The first step is to block the skins. They are stretched then stapled against a board. After they have been properly blocked, they are steamed. By dampening the leather in this way the skins keep their shape. Blocked skins are left to air dry for about twenty-four hours. Once they have been blocked, the skins are carefully matched.

Because skins come in many shapes, they are cut. Cutting is the process by which a single pelt is cut into thin sections, often 3/16ths of an inch thick, and these newly cut pieces are sewn together into a larger even piece. In this way, furriers are able to make skins much longer and thinner, as well as more manageable.

These new skins are then once again blocked to stretch them into the proper shape. A pattern is then applied and, after careful trimming and sewing, the full coat is once again blocked. The stretched coat is then placed on a mannequin to assure that the coat falls evenly. The sleeves, collar and any other trim is sewn on at this point.

The furrier's work is complete. The coat is now sent for cleaning then it is sent to the finisher. The finisher sews in the lining as well as any clips and buttons. The coat is then once again cleaned and is ready to be sold!

 

	Here Kosta Dios, the owner and furrier at Heritage, sets up a plate of mink. A plate is the term for many pieces of skin sewn together. The mink skins have already been blocked, matched and sewn. They are about to be blocked a second time before they are ready to be trimmed into a pattern.
	Fur sewing machines are unlike regular sewing machines. The needles are stiffer and there are two wheels which clamp the fur into position. This step takes extrodinary skill. The fur must be fed evenly towards the needle, just as all of it must be brushed away from the seam. Otherwise the fur might get caught in the seam leaving it weak and patchy.
	Here a coat is fitted on a mannequin. The blocked coat has been shaped according to a pattern and has been sewn together. Here Mr.Dios checks to make sure that the seams are strong and that the coat falls evenly.